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Yamashita
Institute Member Yukiko Yamashita received a major grant from the John Templeton Foundation to study germ cell immortality.

One of biology’s biggest mysteries is how germ cells — the precursors of egg cells and sperm — avoid aging from generation to generation. The Templeton-supported project focuses on the numerous repeated DNA sequences that occur within the sections of the genome supporting ribosomal function in germ cells. Ribosomes are large enzymes that translate messenger RNA into proteins; and by exploring the importance of maintaining ribosomal DNA repeats, Yamashita’s study could identify new approaches for mitigating the cell-aging process — and, potentially, new treatments for cancer.